Keppel Shipyard to Deliver New FPSO

Keppel Shipyard Ltd (Keppel Shipyard) is on track to deliver its latest Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) project, Armada TGT 1, to Bumi Armada Berhad (Bumi Armada).

Nelson Yeo, MD of Keppel Shipyard, said, "We would like to thank our valued customer Bumi Armada for entrusting Keppel Shipyard with the conversion of all their FPSOs. "The success of any complex conversion project depends on the trust and teamwork between a shipyard and its customers. Keppel Shipyard was privileged to have the full support of Bumi Armada in the safe and timely execution of Armada TGT 1, for which we had provided a full range of conversion services, including the fabrication of the topsides and turret."

Armada TGT 1 will be deployed in the Te Giac Trang (TGT or White Rhinoceros) oil field, in Vietnam's Cuu Long Basin, for Hoang Long Joint Operating Company. This FPSO is expected to strike first oil in the third quarter 2011. At full capacity, the unit will be able to produce 55,000 barrels of oil per day and store 620,000 barrels of oil.

Hassan Basma, Executive Director and CEO of Bumi Armada, elaborated on the vessel's specifications: "This FPSO has been...designed to process difficult crude with a low wax appearance temperature and to withstand, sustain and remain moored under 100 year return environmental conditions including cyclones and tsunamis prevalent offshore Vietnam; this too in shallow waters of less than 43 meters. The completed topside is more than 12,000 tons and incorporates state-of-the-art technologies and a different layout to similar class FPSO, resulting in a lighter topside and improved operability and safety considerations."